Spill the beans... on cheap printing

mike2005

try downloading fineprint version 7.04 here (it's free)

search for "fineprint.com"

it's free and acts like a spooler between computer and printer, enables you to print up to eight pages on a single A4

don't forget to order new glasses !!

i regularly use it for up to 4 pages

endorse buying HP laserjet 4, had mine 17 years, bought 3 cartridges in that time so have printed around 35,000 pages

allenjhope

If you have a business in Cheshire or Flintshire you could get free loan office printers from printersunlimited.co.uk they are great

judenchris

Absolutely A M A Z I N G !!!!!!
Took me about 20 mins of fiddling about. But fitted and working beautifully. I no longer need to dread printing costs. I always had to think twice about printing anything. But actually not printing makes the situation worse because the ink then partially dries in the machine causing blockages and even more problems. No More!!! It did cost quite a lot of money to set up, but it was definitely well worth it. Well done City Ink Express! a definite 10 out of ten. Their after sales service and online help has been second to none. I'll definitely be telling E V E R Y O N E about this!

m1618

I use the Firefox browser, and have installed the "Print Edit" add-on:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/print-edit/

This allows you to hide (format of page stays the same with selected text "hidden") or delete (stuff below the deleted section moves up) sections of the page, preview the result, and print all without leaving the browser.

It adds the Print Edit option to the File drop down list in Firefox, right next to the other Print options.

No need to open another program.

A very neat solution IMHO!

Ardmarnoch

I tried continuous ink systems and found them very troublesome - especially with printers that use "Chipped" cartridges. And they cost a lot to buy and fit.
I would suggest the best solution is to buy the right manufacturer's printer in the first place, and after many purchases rate BROTHER best. They appear to be solid and reliable, have many options, and most importantly do not use "chipped" cartridges. I would also recommend their wireless products - you can tuck the printer either where it is convenient, or out of the way, if you are short of space. Best of all, being wireless you can share them with other users within wireless range, or on your network.
Again, they do not use chipped cartridges, the standard cartridges hold a huge amount of ink, you can buy OEM cartridges that are truly huge, and are manufactured to enable you to refill them easily. However the best solution is to buy OEM cartridges on eBay - less than £5 a DOZEN (i.e. three sets).

Steve_xx

Ardmarnoch wrote: »

I tried continuous ink systems and found them very troublesome - especially with printers that use "Chipped" cartridges. And they cost a lot to buy and fit.
I would suggest the best solution is to buy the right manufacturer's printer in the first place, and after many purchases rate BROTHER best. They appear to be solid and reliable, have many options, and most importantly do not use "chipped" cartridges. I would also recommend their wireless products - you can tuck the printer either where it is convenient, or out of the way, if you are short of space. Best of all, being wireless you can share them with other users within wireless range, or on your network.
Again, they do not use chipped cartridges, the standard cartridges hold a huge amount of ink, you can buy OEM cartridges that are truly huge, and are manufactured to enable you to refill them easily. However the best solution is to buy OEM cartridges on eBay - less than £5 a DOZEN (i.e. three sets).

I agree with you re your comments on Brother printers. I particularly like them because I can inject the cartridges with ink from bulk-buy bottles.The ongoing printing costs are negligible.

alexlg

Bellshillbaker wrote: »

Visited Staples in Dundee recently to buy printer ink for my HP printer. Saw an XL size black ink cartridge, which had 30% more ink in it. After a few other selections I paid for my items. The price quoted chilled my blood. £89 for a few items. On checking I discovered that the cost hike was caused by the 30% more ink HP cartridge costing almost three times the price of an ordinary sized one. Needless to say I returned the item. £46 for a 30% more black ink cartridge as compared to £17 for an ordinary one. How can that be justified. We are held to ransom each time we buy ink these days, particularly with HP as they sell you ink which goes out of date very quickly and the printer anoys you each time past the date to carry out more functions to get the ink to print by continually responding to messages about the ink being out of date. The cartridges seem to be smaller and smaller yet more costly every time you go shopping. Avoid the XL trap as HP or Staples either cannot add properly or they rely on sleepy shoppers not noticing.

I've just started using a new HP wifi so have been researching low cost ink. The info I have, from the HP website, is that an HP301XL cartridge will print 2.5x as much as a standard HP301 cartridge. That's a lot more than just '30% more' quoted by the previous poster. Looking at the Staples website today, an HP301 is £12.98 and an XL is £25.99 (or £23.39 if I allow for the 10% back, if I use my Staples Reward card). That sounds about right, so I don't know what was going on in Dundee that day.

I'll probably go down the fill-it-yourself route but thought I would get one set of HP original XL's, to lessen the time between fills.

The cheapest I've found so far ....
* findmysupplies dot co uk *
.... which has a black HP301XL for £17.54 inc vat. Postage is free if you spend over £30 and since I'll be buying the colour one as well, I can discount that. Ie 25% cheaper than Staples.

Asda do a refill kit for £5, which seems to be well reviewed and apparently does up to 6x refills....
* reviews dot asda dot com *
.....(product number and packaging has changed, but they still do an own-brand refill kit). I'll take all the precautions recommended here and on other websites I've read. (Further money-saving possible, if I buy the minimum number of items and price-check my Asda receipt the following morning....)

I haven't looked at compatibles or continuous-ink systems yet. Goodness - there are so many possibilities!

HappySad

mayling03 wrote: »

I use old letters/scrap paper that I take home to work to print off irrelevant stuff. I hardly need to buy anypaper, as most of the stuff I print out I don't need anyway.

We print on both sides of the paper.

koru

pseeker wrote: »

paper discussion is interesting - i'm usually trying to compromise between quality and price. any favourites?

I have had good results for years with HP Office, and HP Home and Office, and Xerox Performer. If you buy in bulk (5 reams or more), you can get them for about £2.50 per ream.